1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for pleating materials. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and an apparatus for the manufacture of pleated yoke and back panel shirt assemblies.
2. Description of the Related Art
One of the more difficult operations in sewing is the formation of a pleat. Conventional technology utilizes manual means for folding a pleat in material and for feeding the arrangement through a sewing machine where the pleat is sewn in position. In situations where the operator is forming a pleat in a shirt back panel material, the difficulty is even more pronounced. The back panel material, in many instances, is attached to yoke panel materials used to form the shoulder portion of the shirt. Generally, two yoke panel materials are attached to each back panel material. The multiple panel materials used in such pleating operations add to the complexity of the pleating and sewing operations.
Traditionally, an operator manually folds the back panel material to form a pleat, or a series of pleats depending on the design of the shirt. Next, the operator manually feeds the two yoke panel materials and the pleated back panel material together through a sewing machine where one yoke panel material would be sewn onto either side of the back panel material. After the operator is finished sewing, the back panel material-yoke panel material assembly is transferred to the next station where other sewing necessary in the production of the shirt takes place.
This manual aligning of the yoke and back panel material and the manual feeding of the materials to the sewing operation has drawbacks. For instance, it is important for the lines in the pleat to be accurate and parallel for the shirt to be considered of high quality and good workmanship. The manual nature of this work increases the possibility that the pleat might be inaccurate or not parallel.
In addition, manual alignment of the back and yoke panel materials requires the manufacturer to invest essential man hours in this operation. It takes some time to position the material with the pleat in the correct place and to then feed the configuration in a fashion that is careful enough not to change the accuracy or parallelness of the pleat during the sewing process. Typically, the operator has to finish folding, feeding and sewing one set of materials before the operator can start the process again with new materials.
The difficulty of the pleating process varies with the type of materials used. As the thickness of the material increases, it becomes more difficult to manually fold the material and hold in place during the sewing process. It also becomes more difficult to handle yoke and back panel material as the size of the panel materials becomes increasingly small or increasingly large.
In working with yoke and back panel materials, it is also difficult to form and keep a pleat in the back panel material during the sewing process while keeping the yoke panel material flat and unwrinkled. Typically, the operator will start with the yoke and back panel materials aligned evenly across their widths and then have to create a pleat in the back panel material as it sets between the two yoke panel materials. This tedious operation sometimes requires the operator to release the yoke panel materials in order to form an accurate and parallel pleat. When the yoke panel materials are released, there is a possibility that the alignment will be altered and that the operator will have to either begin the process again or risk sewing the panel materials into an inaccurate and unacceptable configuration.
Further, due to the nature of the work, it is advantageous to have experienced operators work on this portion of the shirt production operation. However, the need for such experienced people at this point in the operation detracts from the other points in the production operation where the experienced operator could be of value. In addition, the experience necessary to complete the pleating function creates a barrier to the use of unexperienced workers.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a means for automatically making a pleat.
It is also an object of this invention to provide an automatic pleat forming mechanism adaptable for forming a variety of types of pleats in materials of various sizes and thickness.
It is another object of this invention to provide a means for making a pleat which reduces manual labor and increases accuracy.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a means for pleating that reduces the cycle time for forming and sewing pleats.
It is a further object of this invention to reduce the skill level normally necessary in manually forming a pleat.